ReviewSystematic reviews2019
Comparative effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for insomnia: an overview of reviews.
Review in Systematic reviews, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Risks Associated With Benzodiazepine Long-Term Use in Chronic Insomnia: A Systematic Review and (Network) Meta-Analysis.Journal of sleep research · 2026Pooled it
- [Practice guideline for adult burn rehabilitation nursing (2026 edition)].Zhonghua shao shang yu chuang mian xiu fu za zhi · 2026Guideline
- Pooled it
- Effects of different physical activity interventions on women's sleep: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- The effectiveness of exercise interventions targeting sleep in older adults with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD): A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of sleep research · 2024Pooled it
- Optimal exercise dose and type for improving sleep quality: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of RCTs.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Mindfulness-Based Movement Intervention to Improve Sleep Quality: A Meta-Analysis and Moderator Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- AMSTAR 2 appraisal of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the field of heart failure from high-impact journals.Systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological Treatment for Elderly Individuals With Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Meta-Regression of psychosocial factors associated with sleep outcomes in mindfulness-based intervention trials.Behavioral sleep medicinePooled it
- Effectiveness of internet-based self-help cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) among community adults: A randomized controlled trial.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Pain in your day? Get sleep treatment anyway! The role of pain in insomnia treatment efficacy in women veterans.Journal of sleep research · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of Daridorexant in Older and Younger Adults with Insomnia Disorder: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial.Drugs & aging · 2022Trial
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for menopausal insomnia in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with insomnia and nocturnal hot flashes: a randomized-controlled pilot trial.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Effects of Aquatic Exercise on Sleep Quality in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Australian General Practitioners' perspectives, experiences and use of non-drug interventions in primary care: a qualitative study.Family medicine and community health · 2026Article
- Efficacy and mechanism of combined treatment with transcranial direct current stimulation and zolpidem for treatment-resistant insomnia: a study protocol for a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis review aimed to assess the existing evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in adults with insomnia and identify where research or policy development is needed.
methodsMEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library, and PubMed were searched from inception until June 14, 2017, along with relevant gray literature sites. Two reviewers independently screened titles/abstracts and full-text articles, and a single reviewer with an independent verifier completed charting, data abstraction, and quality appraisal.
resultsA total of 64 systematic reviews (35 with meta-analysis) were included after screening 5024 titles and abstracts and 525 full-text articles. Eight of the included reviews were rated as high quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2) tool, and over half of the included articles (n = 40) were rated as low or critically low quality. Consistent evidence of effectiveness across multiple outcomes based on more than one high- or moderate quality review with meta-analysis was found for zolpidem, suvorexant, doxepin, melatonin, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and evidence of effectiveness across multiple outcomes based on one high-quality review with meta-analysis was found for temazepam, triazolam, zopiclone, trazodone, and behavioral interventions. These interventions were mostly evaluated in the short term (< 16 weeks), and there was very little harms data available for the pharmacological interventions making it difficult to evaluate their risk-benefit ratio.
conclusionsAssuming non-pharmacological interventions are preferable from a safety perspective CBT can be considered an effective first-line therapy for adults with insomnia followed by other behavioral interventions. Short courses of pharmacological interventions can be supplements to CBT or behavioral therapy; however, no evidence regarding the appropriate duration of pharmacological therapy is available from these reviews. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42017072527.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.